This invention relates to the art of roll grooving apparatus and, more particularly, to improvements in such apparatus relating to the portability thereof and the versatility thereof in use.
The present invention finds particular utility in connection with portable roll grooving apparatus of the character removably supported on a separate power drive unit which includes spaced apart and parallel support elements for the roll groover and a drive motor having a drive coupling for driving interconnection with a drive shaft of the roll grooving apparatus. While the invention will be illustrated and described herein in connection with such a portable roll groover, it will be understood and appreciated from the disclosure herein that the invention is applicable to other roll grooving apparatus including apparatus integrally mounted on a support and/or drive mechanism.
Generally, roll grooving apparatus includes relatively displaceable first and second support components which respectively rotatably support a driven grooving roll and an idler grooving roll between which a pipe to be grooved is interposed during a grooving operation. The grooving rolls are matingly contoured and, in this respect, the driven roll is provided with a peripheral groove and the idler roll is provided with a peripheral projection such that a pipe therebetween is provided with a peripheral groove upon relative rotation of the grooving rolls and relative radial displacement of the grooving rolls toward one another. In hydraulically operated roll grooving apparatus heretofore available, displacement of the support components toward and away from one another is achieved by a manually operated hydraulic pump having its major dimension extending laterally outwardly from one side of the apparatus and having a pump handle which also extends laterally outwardly of the apparatus and beyond the outer end of the pump. Moreover, the pump handle is not intended to be removable from the pump. Further, such roll grooving apparatus heretofore available often includes a pipe stabilizer arrangement extending laterally outwardly of the apparatus from the side thereof opposite the side on which the pump is mounted. The stabilizer generally includes a support member slidably supporting a carriage which is displaceable laterally inwardly and outwardly of the apparatus by a crank at the outer end of the support and which includes a rotatable wheel for engaging and stabilizing a pipe being roll grooved.
In roll grooving apparatus of the foregoing character, either one of the pump or stabilizer alone adds considerable lateral width to the basic roll grooving apparatus making it difficult and sometimes impossible to maneuver the apparatus through a doorway or the like without removing one or both of the pump and stabilizer from the apparatus. It will be appreciated that if the apparatus includes both a pump and stabilizer, the foregoing problem is magnified. Even if the pump and stabilizer are on the same side of the apparatus, removal of either one of the two alone does not assure the desired maneuverability. In addition to being difficult to get through narrow doorways, the apparatus is difficult to physically handle in connection with transporting the apparatus from one location to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that it is time consuming, if not difficult, to have to remove one or both of the pump and stabilizer in connection with transporting the apparatus and then remounting the pump and/or stabilizer upon reaching a work location. A further problem encountered with roll grooving apparatus heretofore available results from the fact that different sizes of stabilizers are necessary to accommodate a wide range of pipe sizes to be roll grooved. In this respect, the adjustment capability of a given stabilizer is limited, whereby one size of stabilizer is capable of working with one range of pipe sizes such as, for example, two inch to sixteen inch pipe, and a larger stabilizer is necessary for the apparatus to accommodate the roll grooving of pipes from, for example, sixteen to twenty-four inches. Having to provide two different sizes of stabilizers not only increases the cost of the apparatus but requires inventorying extra parts and storing the same. Moreover, time and effort is required on the part of the user when it becomes necessary to remove one stabilizer and replace it with the other.
Improvements are provided in accordance with the present invention by which the foregoing and other disadvantages of roll grooving apparatus heretofore available are minimized or overcome. More particularly in this respect, the manually operated hydraulic pump of roll grooving apparatus in accordance with the invention is mounted for the major dimension of the pump to provide an axis lying in a vertical plane and, preferably, with the axis extending vertically. The pump in a preferred embodiment comprises a housing and a hydraulic fluid reservoir, and the pump handle, during use, extends laterally outwardly from the housing and reservoir and is displaceable relative thereto for pumping fluid from the reservoir to the support member on which the idler grooving roll is mounted for displacement of the latter grooving roll toward the driven grooving roll. Further in accordance with the invention, the pump handle has a non-use position or location in which it does not extend laterally outwardly of the apparatus, and such non-use location or position can be provided by removing the handle from the pump and/or by interconnecting the handle with the pump in a manner which provides for the handle to pivot and/or swivel relative to the pump to a position in which the handle does not extend laterally outwardly of the apparatus to the extent that it does during use. In any event, it will be appreciated that the disposition of the pump axis in accordance with the invention narrows the lateral width of the apparatus relative to such apparatus heretofore available, and that the disposition of the handle in the non-use position or location thereof further promotes minimizing the lateral width of the apparatus. Of further advantage is the fact that the removability of the handle enables the use of different length handles in accordance with parameters of a given roll grooving operation such as, for example, the pipe material, pipe size, wall thickness and the like.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a pipe stabilizer is mounted on the same side of the apparatus as is the pump, thus promoting a reduction of the overall width of the apparatus in comparison with such apparatus heretofore available. Preferably, the stabilizer is selectively mountable in either one of two laterally spaced apart locations on the apparatus. This effectively increases the total stroke of the stabilizer relative to pipes being roll grooved, whereby a larger range of pipe sizes can be roll grooved on the same apparatus simply by shifting the mounting position of the stabilizer. Of further advantage is the fact that a smaller stabilizer heretofore used for roll grooving pipes from two inches to sixteen inches, for example, can be used to increase the roll grooving range to pipes up to twenty-four inches, for example. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the mounting of the stabilizer on the same side of the apparatus as the pump and enabling the use of a smaller size stabilizer both narrows the overall width of the apparatus in comparison with roll groovers heretofore available while providing for the apparatus to accommodate a larger range of pipe sizes. It will be appreciated, therefore, that roll grooving apparatus in accordance with the present invention provides advantageous improvements in connection with both the portability and versatility of roll grooving apparatus.
It is accordingly an outstanding object of the present invention to provide improvements in connection with hydraulically actuated roll grooving apparatus.
Another object is the provision of roll grooving apparatus of the foregoing character in which the major dimension of the pump of the hydraulic system is oriented relative to the apparatus in a manner to narrow the lateral width thereof relative to roll grooving apparatus heretofore available.
A further object is the provision of roll grooving apparatus of the foregoing character wherein the axis of the hydraulic pump with respect to the major dimension thereof is vertical.
Yet another object is the provision of roll grooving apparatus of the foregoing character which includes a pipe stabilizer associated with the apparatus in a manner to promote narrowing of the width thereof in comparison with such apparatus heretofore available.
Still a further object is the provision of roll grooving apparatus of the foregoing character in which the stabilizer is adapted to be selectively associated with the apparatus in a manner which provides for the apparatus to accommodate a larger range of pipe sizes with the same size stabilizer than heretofore possible.
Yet another object is the provision of roll grooving apparatus of the foregoing character in which the pump handle is adapted to be associated with the pump in a manner which allows displacement of the handle to a non-use position or location so as to promote lateral compactness of the apparatus.
Still another object of the invention is the provision of improvements in roll grooving apparatus of the foregoing character which promote portability of the apparatus and versatility in connection with the use thereof.